The Devil and the detail

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I have visited some very strangely named places in my time, but The Devil’s Beeftub, near Moffat is very unusual.  It is a depression in the hills, where four peaks join and is so called as the Johnstone clan, referred to as, ‘Devils’ by their neighbours, used to hide stolen cattle here.

It is a very beautiful walk, and it was lovely to be out on a wintery March day with such beautiful views.

A couple of days later I visited two places that have been on my wishlist for a while.  The Great Polish Map of Scotland is in the grounds of a hotel between Moffat and Edinburgh. This photo is from the hotel website.

It was created from granite as a tourist attraction by a Polish war veteran, Jan Tomasik,  who married his wartime nurse, and settled in Scotland.  He later became a successful hotelier and in 1968 bought the Barony Hotel.

The map was created over six summers between 1974 and 1979, mainly by Poles living in Scotland,  assisted by hotel staff and Polish exchange students.

It fell into disrepair after the hotel closed,but was restored from 2014.

It is an amazing piece of craftsmanship in stone, and it must have been so challenging to create.

The same is true for my second visit that day, the gorgeous Rosslyn Chapel.  Made famous by its inclusion in the Dan Brown novel, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, this is a stunning piece of church architecture.

There are no photos permitted inside the Chapel , these two come from the official website, but the carving is incredible, arguably the best that I have ever seen.

This is the Apprentice Pillar, and the detail in the carving is amazing, and so consistent!

The Chapel was built in 1446 by William St Clair, and later extended.  It fell into disrepair and in the late 1990s restoration began with a roof erected over the Chapel to start to dry it out.

The inclusion of the Chapel in the 2003 book, and subsequent 2006 film meant that visitor  numbers increased and raised more money for restoration which is fantastic. It really is an amazing place, I was so lucky to visit on such a sunny day as well.

I am currently sitting in the shade at the back of my caravan, we are having a mini heatwave and the awning and caravan itself are too hot! It is going to get up to 28 degrees here, which is a bit warm for working really, so the shorts and natty sun hat will be out again.

It has been a little quieter in terms of campers over the last few weeks, partly due to a long spell of rain again, but it gives us all a chance to catch up with jobs that we don’t get time for otherwise. 

We are now just over halfway through the season, with lots more adventures planned for the next few months. I am really enjoying being here, and am so lucky with the location and my team.

Last week Cath and I had an impromptu shopping trip to Oban, stopping off at this cafe overlooking Castle Stalker on the way.

I am so loving life in the Highlands, even if the weather is unpredictable! Hope you are all having a great time and thanks for visiting. 

Happy birthday to me!

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Today is my 64th birthday, and I am not only celebrating that, but also 5 years of retirement from my teaching career. It doesn’t seem like five years ago that I left the university and set off on this path, not really knowing where I would end up, but I am so grateful and happy to be here.

To be able to explore places like Glen Etive, a walk a did a few weeks ago now, is truly wonderful. The walk up the valley is beautiful,  and the the Buachallie Etive Mór mountain is just so awe inspiring to see.

It is raining today, with a lot more forecast for the rest of the week, so I am going to spend a very happy day in, knitting another couple of reindeer for a fundraiser, and counting my blessings.

We are having a team social tomorrow, a games night and a Chinese, and tonight will be some tapas from the local Co op and a nice bottle of wine!

When I started this blog coming up for 19 years ago, I had no idea that I would end up here, living and working in Scotland, and having such an amazing life. My plans took an unexpected diversion six months in to blogging, and at that time the future looked very uncertain. 

However it has truly been wonderful last 18 years, if a little wobbly at times, and I am so blessed to be able to be here and enjoy all this wonder.

Last week, like most of the country, we were quite warm, and I went on two great walks.  I have wanted to do both of these for quite a while, they are only just five minutes from the campsite, but I was saving them for a great day.

The first was the footpath from Loch Achtriochtan to the Three Sisters mountains. This is one of the most iconic views of Glencoe, and as such it is virtually impossible to park anywhere near.

However,  there is a little car park, hidden from view, just off the main road, and from there you can walk to the mountains.

On my list is to park the other side and walk back towards them, another amazing set of views that I will show you later in the summer.

Not far from there is An Tor and Signal Rock, another National Trust for Scotland places. I had briefly visited with my friend on a walk along the Greenway, but wanted to go back and do the other trails.

There are three here, so I did the blue one to the rock, and the black one round the whole hill. The rock was apparently a clan meeting place and used to light warning beacons in the 1600s.

The walk starts with a river crossing and stunning views up the valley.

It was beautiful, although quite challenging and steep at times, especially in 25 degrees, but I made it to the rock, pictured below.

I truly love forest walks, there is something so magical about them, that sense of calm with the sun shining through, and mountains just visible through the trees. 

I still can’t believe I have been lucky enough to not only get this brilliant job, and to have had two such amazing sites to work at. Speyside last year was just so lovely, and Glencoe is beyond amazing. To see this every morning,  even on the wet ones, is truly magical.

Even the fact that it rains most of the time, I am often damp all day, doesn’t alter the fact that I am having a wonderful life.

I hope you are enjoying yourselves too, whatever you are doing. Take care and thanks for visiting. 

Not a National Trust house!

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One of my lifetime ambitions is to visit every National Trust property,  making very good use of my membership, and discovering lots of gorgeous textiles along the way.

After staying at Kendal Cricket Club, having missed out on a couple the previous day due to bad weather, I was searching the map and was delighted to find one that I hadn’t previously pinned.

Off I set on a wonderfully sunny day, above Windermere to find Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House, on arrival discovering that it wasn’t a Trust house at all, which is why it hadn’t come up on previous searches.

Situated above the lake, with stunning views, it was built as a holiday home for  Manchester industrialist, Edward Holt, in 1901, and designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. It has been beautifully restored by the Lakeland Arts Trust.

In its time it was also a girls’ school, but thankfully its fantastic architecture and interior has been preserved.

The Arts and Crafts movement has always been one of my first design loves, and this house, along with the work of Margaret McDonald Mackintosh, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Evelyn de Morgan, whose work can be seen at the similarly stunning Whitwick Manor, is an amazing example of the work of these design geniuses.

As with many houses of the era most of the rooms are wood panelled, with painting, carving and textiles everywhere.

My favourite room, and one so very different to the others, was the white drawing room. The plaster flowers that accentuate every corner are just amazing. To me they are like something from a Tolkien vision of Elven architecture.

Even the books are beautiful, I would love to have a reading nook like this.

There were some more gorgeous books upstairs.

There of course lots of textiles, tapestry cushions, hangings etc, but my favourite was definitely this whitework bedspread. As usual no information on who made this, but respect to the many hours of the hands that did.

If you love this period, or just want to see a beautiful house in a gorgeous location I can heartily recommend it, at £12 entry it was a bargain, and they have a tea room!

The weather has been really beautiful for the last few days, so I am planning another walk today, for the past few weeks my days off have been a bit damp so very much enjoying the blue skies. My plants are also looking very lovely. 

Hope you are all enjoying life, and are not too hot if you are in one of the many areas with heatwaves. Take care and thanks for visiting. 

Stops along the way, Spring 2026 edition

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I love trying out new stopping places with Katy, and on my recent return to Scotland stopped at some which have been on my map for ages, as well as a few favourites from last year.

The first was Moorside Farm Aire, just outside Market Drayton, a useful halfway point between Ellen’s and my friend in Wales.

The aire costs £10 a night, payable by cash and I rang to book ahead. There is a large grass field for campervans, and a toilet available. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable night’s stay before heading for Attingham.

After I left my friend I headed for the Rhug Farmshop, I have been here before and it is basically just the car park, however it is very good value and they have a great deli and Cafe, as well as toilets open during the day.

My plan was then to get to somewhere nice in the Lakes via a couple of Trust garden visits,  however torrential rain on the M6 meant that I ended up spending the night at Kendal Cricket Club, in their car park. They ask for a £10 cash payment, and there are facilities when the bar is open. Not a brilliant view but a much appreciated night near to all the supermarkets.

I was heading for Moffat, to a static caravan on a beautiful little site just outside the town. The Camping and Caravanning Club have a campsite there as well bit I thought that early March was a little too cold for camping!

The site was built around a small lake, and as well as statics had some lovely lodges and lots of wildlife areas.

After a week of luxury in my beautiful caravan, plans had to change as my caravan tower changed dates, so I ended up driving to Edinburgh to buy a new tent, and pitched on a hardstanding at our Scone Campsite for a week.

It was a little cold, dropping to minus 2 a couple of nights, but I had lots of fleecy blankets, and appreciated the chance to spend more time on the trail of Mary Queen of Scots. More about that in a later post.

I went back to one of my favourite park ups before Scone, this is the third time I have stayed at the Kelpies, now £15 a night which includes a coffee. It is only the first time I have seen them lit up at night though, as the first time they were down for maintenance, and last time it was torrential rain!

After Perth I stopped off at the National Trust spot The Hermitage, near Dunkeld, for a little walk. The recent rain meant that the waterfall near the building was in full flow, the noise was incredible. This is an area that I want to spend a lot more time in, as it’s so beautiful.

Many stopovers offer their services for free if you eat or drink there, and my next stop was one of those. The Apiary is a gorgeous little cafe at Dalwhinnie in the Cairngorms. I forgot to take any photos of the inside, but it was another lovely peaceful night, and very welcome after the rain and sleet of the journey. 

My final one before reuniting with Lotte the caravan at Lossiemouth was the gorgeous Findhorn Aire, run by the community and bookable online for £17, it is definitely one of my favourite places in Scotland.

I am really looking forward to some more overnight adventures soon. I have been busy with friends visiting the last three weeks, but am planning to explore more of this area soon. I want to head over to the west, around Arisaig and Mallaig, so have been busy adding pins to the map.

Meanwhile it has been another mainly wet week, we did have a dry Sunday where we ran around with the mowers, but it is back to mixed weather this week. I am still loving life here, more rain means bonus waterfalls and keeps the midges away, so it is not all bad!

Hope you are all enjoying life whatever you are doing, thanks for visiting and see you soon.

Some very different kinds of ironwork

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One of the reasons that I love living in Spain,  and visiting Spanish cities, is all the amazing ironwork on the balconies. All of our houses have some kind of protective grilles on the windows, and these and the gates are often quite ornate.

This is often a feature of the country houses I visit as well, with grand staircases and balconies, and I love all of the amazing artistry that can be created out of metal.  Having seen blacksmiths at many medieval events I am always in awe of their work.

One of my days on the way to Scotland, via  a visit to a friend in Wales, involved driving through Shropshire,  a county I need to spend more time in as it is so beautiful.  I drove from Ellen’s across to Attingham Park firstly, another Trust house that has been on my wishlist for a long time.

It is no coincidence that this area is famous for its metalwork, with the heritage centred around Ironbridge and its famous crossing by Thomas Telford, such a wealth of industrial heritage.

The owners of Attingham must have been well aware of the developments in industry only a few miles away. Though their house reflects the arts more than industry, the house, built in 1785, epitomises the era so well.

Thomas Telford, a Scot born in 1757, would have been at the peak of his career as an engineer.  It was in Shropshire that he made his name as an engineer, working on canals there.

It was a beautiful day for a visit, I was very lucky to have a sunny February day, and all the snowdrops were in bloom.

The interior of the house was beautiful,  with some stunning decoration. This blue and gold room was one of my favourites.

I loved the art gallery space though, built for entertaining with an impressive ironwork staircase to the upper floor, showcasing a wonderful window.

The servants’ quarters were also interesting, I really liked the interpretation via the dining table, showing wages and duties.

They also had the very best organisation of the linen cupboard. Look at these beautiful pieces all carefully folded, with ribboned lavender. 

I loved the recreations of the ornate desserts as well. The house had a dedicated chef just to make these.

My second stop was somewhere that I have had pinned on my map for a while. It is an open air gallery, based at the British Ironwork Centre, near Oswestry. 

They have the most incredible pieces, mostly made from recycled materials, showcasing ironwork as you have never seen it before.

The scale of some of the pieces is incredible, and the work that goes into them just amazing.  This gorilla is made from teaspoons.

I had seen the Knife Angel some years ago, when it was on display in Worcester.  Made from knives donated during a weapons amnesty, it has been toured to raise awareness of knife crime in the UK.

Most of the pieces have a message, there is a strong theme of environmental responsibility throughout the artworks, which makes it a fantastic place to visit.

Life here on the campsite continues to be very busy, we have been full for weeks, although it has been a little quieter this week. I have also had two visitors, so feeling very blessed that people will come all this way to see me, and the wonders of Scotland of course!

The weather has been very variable, from 24 degrees for my first visitor,  to 12 and raining for my second. We have still been out enjoying ourselves though, just needed our big coats!

I am also meeting some other friends this afternoon who are in the area, then will be making the most of the rest of my day off doing some weeding in my garden, if the rain holds off!

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing, take care and

Welcome to Glencoe!

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I thought I would start off my series of posts about life here with a little overview of the site, and tell you a bit more about my routine this year.

‘Welcome to Glencoe’, is what we always say to people as they pull up to the entrance to our campsite. 

If you have been following this blog for a while you’ll know that last year I worked at the Speyside campsite, so I had to concentrate really hard to get my greeting right for the first week or so!

Usually people are very excited when they get here, as the drive in either direction is through some of the most stunning scenery in the UK.

I will show you more of that in future posts but you might either come past the gorgeous Loch Leven, or past Buachallie Etive Mór, a very distinctive mountain on the A82.

The site is next to the National Trust Visitor Centre, a busy hub for the area, with lots of great information about the history and the geology here. They have a fascinating exhibition on the history of mountain rescue, and a recreation of a 17th century turf house, with amazing views.

This is also the start of the newly opened Glencoe Greenway, a 13km bike and walking trail that goes around the two valleys here.

If you are lucky you’ll get to see the Visitor Centre Highland cows, or coos, as they are called here in Scotland. 

As I have mentioned before the site itself is very different to Speyside, being a much more natural environment.  We do have lots of lovely planters at the entrance, and have all spent time making our staff pitches look pretty, but the rest of the site is very much a natural environment. 

In the middle of the site is, ‘The Mound’, which has amazing views, we have a couple of picnic benches up there and keep the paths mowed, but everything else natural. 

Our camping fields are the same, large stretches of grass, with amazing views while you are mowing!

The site is one big loop around this Mound, with a couple of small dead ends into the road nearest the facilities block, and one into an area with a great view of one of my favourite hills. When it rains this one has some great waterfalls running down it.

It is also the view from my caravan door! I love sitting in my new awning on a sunny evening watching the clouds.

I have been busy getting things to make my little caravan feel like home, particularly for the outdoor space.

My pitch at Speyside was a lot more of a natural environment, so I didn’t need as much, but here I have now got an awning,  a storage unit donated by my manager’s wife, and lots of lovely pots and planters, as well as many solar lights! The tins are my ones from Katy.

We have had a great start to the season, the weather has generally been good, with a very hot week where I got to wear my lovely uniform sunhat!

It has been so busy, we have been fully booked for weeks, with an average of 35 arrivals a day, so most of the afternoons are spent here, greeting campers.

Mornings vary, I have two early starts, on duty from 8am, doing site checks and office admin, checking arrivals and manning Reception. 

My two later starts I go straight to cleaning duties, this year that is very different as well as I clean as part of the team. Everything is in the one facilities block, at the end of the site.

This means I only clean the toilets once a week,  the other three days I am on showers and basins, or what we call, ‘outers’, which is dishwashing, laundry and the chemical toilet disposal.

I am enjoying the fact that the toilet block is newer and has smooth shower walls, rather than all that grouting I cleaned last year!

We have also had a couple of social events since we started, including two bbqs! They are such lovely people to live and work with, and I am really enjoying the experience. 

I get two days off a week, so have been doing some exploring. There is such to see and do here, both near and further afield, I am really excited to spend the summer here, still can’t believe that this is my life.

Hope you are having a great time whatever you are doing. Have fun and thanks for visiting. 

Fashion Icons

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Although I wouldn’t consider myself a follower of current fashion trends, mainly due to living most of my life in camping trousers and fleeces 😉 I am interested in historically inspired trends, and of course in historic fashion itself.

I have enjoyed researching medieval fashions as as re-enactor, and Victorian ones for Steampunk costumes. I really enjoy interpreting things for my own dressmaking, and so the second exhibition we saw in London was brilliant due to its combination of the old and the new.

Entitled, ‘Marie Antoinette Style’, the exhibition covered historical fashion, but also how the queen’s clothing had been remade, for various films, but also used as inspiration for costume balls, and current fashions. All of this was cleverly interwoven with the story of her life, and a look at how the garments and accessories were made. 

It was a really well curated exhibition, and I’m glad we bought tickets early, as it was sold out very soon after it opened.

The initial section was full of the most gorgeous examples of historic fashion, including this stunning wedding dress. None of the queen’s original garments survive, so this section was from various different museums.

What was equally fascinating was the section on jewellery, fans and shoes, including some of the original designs.

I loved the Manalo shoes based on her style. Even though I mainly live in flip flops and safety boots these days I do like a pretty shoe!

The second half of the exhibition looked at some of the recreations of her clothing,  dating from the 19th century, and how the fashions had been interpreted by various modern designers for catwalk shows.

This was also supported by scenes from films about her life showing the movie costumes in action. The green dress in the centre of the room was just stunning, so a marvel of fabric engineering.

A really interesting exhibition, and so well put together.

We then had for a quick wander around the medieval art section before it was time to leave to head back to Ellen’s.

I am hoping to spend a bit more time in London next year, there are so many more museums I want to revisit, so may do that early March when I return from Spain.

Life here on site continues to be very busy, we have had some stunning weather and some dreadful stuff, often all in the same day as is normal for Scotland. I will share some of the loveliness with you in the next post, before continuing to document life before I got here.

Meanwhile take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

London life

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I am taking advantage of the fact that we actually have four bars of signal today to bring you an update on my trip to London with my lovely daughter, Ellen, at the end of February. 

Things seem to be improving on the connectivity front, it is one of the few disadvantages of living here that 21st century conveniences can’t be taken for granted.

Ellen and I planned our trip last year as we saw that there were two historic fashion exhibitions on at the same time. We had a wonderful weekend enjoying city life, with a hotel in the beautiful Bayswater Road area, delicious meals out, and lots of wonderful clothes. 

On Friday we had chance to do a quick visit to the wonderful British Library before going to our hotel. It is such a beautiful building, and as we both love books so much, a really inspiring place.

We had a visit to the Treasures Collection, full.of significant texts, from annotated writings to illustrated religious texts.

So many gorgeous things in the bookshop. I really want these map books, when I have space on my bookshelves.

Saturday morning was a quick trip to Borough Market, where we bought gluten free treats, and I stocked up on spices for the caravan from this amazing stall.

Then it was a walk past the Shard to the Fashion and Textile Museum, for an exhibition about the company Cosprop. They have been supplying film and TV productions since the 1970s, using a combination of vintage clothing and reconstructed garments.

It would take too long to list all of the films and TV shows they had costumes for but think Victoria, lots of Jane Austen, and virtually every single other big historical movie filmed in the last 50 years.

So many amazing things, and to see them close up was such a treat. 

It is difficult to say which was my favourite, however I do adore Georgian waistcoats, the embroidery is so stunning. These were such amazingly detailed reproductions, taking inspiration from original panels.

A quick visit to Covent Garden for refreshments, seeing a Bansky and an art installation featuring a jellyfish on the way, and we ended the day at Liberty for cocktails.

They had a new range inspired by Bridgerton, and although I am never going to pay that much for a pillowcase, it was lovely to see the fabrics, and Lady Bridgerton’s mask from the ball.

Fingers crossed the internet will remain good so I can be back soon with part two of London life, the one where we visit the V and A.

I am so happy that I can do all these brilliant trips  and that my life is full of such diverse adventures. 

Hopefully see you soon, take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

The joys of rural life

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Just a quick post to say that blogging is not happening at the moment due to an almost complete lack of Internet here.

We had some problems a couple of weeks ago, with the local mast and O2, so I went and restarted my other Sim card which works on a different provider.

However the last few days have been really poor as well, I can barely get my emails, so no chance of sharing anything lovely with you. I am still loving life here, and am getting lots of reading done!

Hopefully may be able to post soon!

Coorieing in on the campsite

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The Scots have a phrase, ‘ to coorie in,’ which means to nestle, or snuggle in, which is what I am doing today.

I am having my first days off, now we are all on our normal rotas. Yesterday I did lots of cooking, and today I am cozied up under one of my new fleece blankets, with my heater on and a cup of tea in my Highland Cow mug. It is going to be a crochet day I think.

I am very glad that I did buy the lovely fleecy duvet set that was on sale in Asda at Inverness. I was in two minds as I already had a van full of stuff, but it has been so cosy!

As it is the end of the first week of normal work here in Glencoe, I thought I would give you an update on that, and go back to my London adventures next time.

I was originally planning to be here on the 12th March, however the towing date had to be changed, so Lotte and I set off from her winter home at Lossiemouth on the 17th. She had been parked next to a boat. She was a little green, but otherwise in good condition externally.

It was a beautiful day, starting with a gorgeous sunrise at the park up at Lossiemouth beach.

I was so happy to be back on the road with her, and thankfully there was no internal damp, and all my stored stuff was fine. After checking everything the day before we set off bright and early in the sunshine.

Although it was wet when I arrived here, the next few days were also brilliant sunshine, and we got so much groundwork done.

The site has been closed for winter, and there were lots of sticks to pick up, one of my constant jobs last summer, pitch markers to put back, and toilets to clean!

The weather has been really varied, after the sunny first three days we have had hail, strong winds, rain and blue skies, usually all within the same hour! I have loved taking pictures of how the mountains change, when you can see them of course 😉

The photo above is the view from my caravan door.

One of the main differences about this year’s role is that I am part of a team of 5, rather than 3 as last year. We have already had a couple of team socials, and they are an excellent bunch of people. 

My manager is a new manager this year, as at Speyside last year, but he was a site assistant last year here, so knows the site well. My other 3 colleagues are new to the role this year.

We will be much busier than Speyside ever was, opening last week we had the same number of arrivals as our busiest summer days there and we are full this coming Easter weekend. 

We also get a lot more just one night stays, from people touring Scotland, and a lot of hire vans.

After our hard work getting the site in order, we then went to Perth, back to the Scone Campsite for a day’s training on our new IT system for bookings.

We will be using tablets this year, which we take out with us to book people into pitches. That will take a bit of getting used to, but we have all now completed the on site training and have used them with customers.

On the way back from training I stopped to get a quick shot of the Mirror Man at Loch Earn.

We are also getting used to where things are here, it is a much larger site, with 60 hardstanding pitches, and a large tent field, which is rather soggy at the moment! We have had a few intrepid backpackers pitched there already.

The site also looks very different,  rather than lots of well cut grass, it is mainly hardstanding pitches around what is known as, ‘The Mound’, a raised area with paths mown through it, with the most amazing views.

Of course the main draw here are the amazing mountains. You can see from this photo of the map all the red contour lines around us.  We also have the gorgeous Loch Leven just down the road.

I am so looking forward to exploring more over the next few months.  This is an area that I have been to a couple of times before,  but have only ever visited briefly. I have so many smaller walks planned, along with just staring in awe at the mountains.

Just over 18 years ago, when I first started this blog, I wrote my, ‘About me’, page and I include the lines, ‘I love camping, and am happiest in a field, preferably with a view of the mountains, ‘. Therefore I can safely say that I think I am going to be very happy here!

It is a very dreich day, as the Scots say, this is my current view from the van, and sadly all those people coming for the weekend have a bit of a mixed forecast to look forward to. However, I have tested my waterproof trousers already, and am good to go!

Hopefully I will be back soon, so see you then.  Thanks for visiting and have fun!